On Monday July 22 the Falkland Islands Maritime Authority received information that the Spanish fishing vessel Argos Georgia needed assistance.
27 fishermen in trouble
A report from the vessel which had 27 persons onboard, said itwas taking on water some 200 miles east of the Falklands capital Stanley.
Then at 4pm local time on the same day, it was confirmed that the crew of the vessel were forced to abandon ship.
The Spanish government said 10 of the crew were from Spain, eight were Russians, five were from Indonesia and the others were from Uruguay and Peru.
14 rescued
The following day, 14 crew members were rescued, 13 of whom will arrive into Stanley on July 24 on FPV Lilibet and they will be medically assessed by the team from the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
One crew member was rescued by one of the other vessels, its’ sister ship Robin M Lee in the area and will return to Stanley in due course.
Nine confirmed dead
The Falkland Islands Government has therefore confirmed that, so far, the bodies of nine crew members have been recovered and four remain missing whilst their Next of Kin have been contacted by the fishing vessel company.
According to the Falkland Islands Government, throughout this time the Falkland Islands Government, Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, HQ British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the fishing vessel company and other fishing vessels at sea, have been working closely with one another to support a rescue mission to all those on the vessel.
Search suspended due to adverse weather
However on July 24, it was announced that due to consideration of all circumstances, including the weather conditions forecasted and the safety of those involved in operations, the decision has been made to stop the search and rescue efforts.
A further recovery effort will be made to find those still at sea as soon as this is practicable.
